Oil drainage funnel



July 29, 1941. H. L.HIETT OIL DRAINAGE FUNNEL Filed July 30, 1940 Patented July 29, 1941 "UNI TED STATES PAT ENT FFI CE OIL DRAINAGE FUNNEL Henry Lee Iliett, East Falls Church, Va. Al'lb libaltioh jllly 30, 194'0,'S'erial N0. 348,574

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a drainage funnel for collecting the residual oil adherent to the inside surfaces of the original-cans 'from which lubricating "oil is dispensed into the crank cases of auto vehicles. V

The conventional system. of servicing automobile engines with lubricating 'oil at service stations is to provide oil cans, generally of'quart capacity, sealed, so that the purchaser'will be sure of getting the'bra'nd called for. These cans are punctured in thepresence of the pm-chaser, and the oil discharged into the crank case.

A little adherent oil' is left inea'ch can, which is generally discarded with the can. In the course of a day a great many emptied calls may be discarded, resulting in the aggregate wastage of a considerable amount of oil.

It is the purpose of the present invention to prevent this waste.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a drainage funnel having means for supporting the cans in inclined inverted position, and for holding them in definite circumferential position with the discharge aperture at the lowest point.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a drainage funnel with a central aperture, and a protective hood overlying said central aperture, having its peripheral edge narrowly spaced from the adjacent surface of the funnel, forming a crack that will pass oil, but which will exclude foreign particles that may blow or drop into the funnel.

Other objects of the invention will appear as a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the following specification, and throughout the several figures of which the same characters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts Figure 1 is a vertical section through a drainage funnel embodying the principles of the in- Vention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view; and

Figure 3 is a detail in section, showing the interlocking means for holding the protective hood in place.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral I represents in general the drainage funnel of the present invention, which comprises a surrounding downward convergent wall 2. This wall, as shown,ris conical, but other shapes are within the purview of the invention. At its point of convergence, the wall 2 is provided with the drainage opening 3.

It is designedto set the funnel over the open top of a suitable receptacle, such as the oil drum 4, for the collection of the oil, and to prevent the funnel from slipping'out of place it is prefe'rably provided on the under side with a downwardly extending flange 5, whichin the embodicans in inclined inverted position with the discharge aperture at the lowermost point in the circumference of the topof the can. Figure 1 shows the can 6 having the discharge aperture 1.

The funnel I, as shown, is provided with a plurality of radial fingers 8. These fingers are preferably 'made of resilient, although stiff, sheet material and are suitably secured to their lower ends 9 to the wall 2 of the funnel. The upper ends I!) and the major portions of the fingers 8 are free from the wall 2 and. are arranged at a small angle thereto, as shown at l l in Figure '1. It is, of course, not essential to the invention that the fingers 8 be positioned radially, it being only necessary that their upper ends be conveniently located for insertion into the discharge aperture 1 of the can. The can is simply pushed onto the finger '8, being cramped between said fingers and the wall 2 and thus held fixedly in position with the aperture 1 at the lowermost point.

In general, the drainage funnel of the present invention will be employed out of doors, and preferably in a position to catch the sunshine which will heat the parts and reduce the viscosity of the oil, speeding up the drainage from the cans and resulting in a higher recovery-of oil. At best, however, the gravitational drainage of the oil from the cans is a relatively slow process, so that there is considerable opportunity for foreign particles such as leaves, trash, insects, etc., to blow or drop into the funnel. In order to prevent the contamination of the reclaimed oil by such particles or bodies, a protective hood [2 is employed which overlies the discharge aperture 3 and the peripheral edge l3 of which is narrowly spaced from the adjacent surface of the Wall 2, The

width of the space is preferably such as will permit the passage of the draining oil film but will exclude foreign particles of the type referred to. The protective hood I2 is preferably detachably afiixed to the wall 2 of the funnel by interlocking lugs I4 and I5 secured respectively to the hood and to the wall 2 of the funnel. By slight rotation of the protective hood I2, its lugs I4 may be engaged with or disengaged from the lugs I5 on the wall 2. The hood I2 is made removable so that the oil passage between said hood and the wall 2 may be kept clean for it may eventually become more or less clogged by the accumulation of foreign matter.

While I have in the above description disclosed embodiment of the invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the specific details of construction and the arrangement of parts as shown and described, are by way of eX- ample, and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Can draining funnel comprising a receptacle including a surrounding downwardly convergent wall terminating in a discharge aperture, and spring fingers each secured adjacent its lower end to said wall and having its free portion extending at a small angle with respect thereto in an upward direction adapted to enter the aperture of a can and forming a clamp with the adjacent wall for holding said can in definite draining position.

. 2. Can draining funnel comprising a receptacle including a surrounding downwardly convergent wall terminating in a discharge aperture, and

yielding radially disposed spring fingers each secured adjacent its lower end to said wall and having its free portion extending at a small angle with respect thereto in an upward direction adapted to enter the aperture of a can and forming a clamp with the adjacent wall for holding said can in definite draining position.

3. Can draining funnel comprising a receptacle having a surrounding downwardly convergent wall terminating in a discharge aperture, resilient fingers each secured adjacent its lower end to said wall and having its free portion extending at a small angle with respect thereto adapted to enter the aperture of a can forming a clamp with the adjacent wall for holding said can in definite draining position, and a hood overlying said aperture having its peripheral edge narrowly spaced from the adjacent surface of said wall.

4. Can draining funnel as claimed in claim 3, said wall and hood being provided with cooperating interlocking means by which said hoodis detachably secured to said wall.

5. Can draining funnel comprising a receptacle including a surrounding inverted conical wall terminating in a discharge aperture, yielding fingers on the upper side of said wall each secured adjacent its lower end to said wall at a small angle with respect thereto and having a free upper portion adapted to enter the aperture of a can and cramp said can between said finger and wall in definite draining position, a flange on the under side of said wall adapted to enter the mouth of a collecting receptacle and a detachable hood overlying said discharge aperture having its peripheral edge narrowly spaced from the adjacent surface of said wall.

HENRY LEE HIETT. 

